NEW YORK Private equity firm Starwood Capital Group has purchased 16 high-end restaurants from Stephen Hanson for about $150 million, according to the New York Post. The deal includes such high-profile operations here as Blue Water Grill, Atlantic Grill, Dos Caminos and Ruby Foo’s.
The restaurants — of which Hanson has a 72-percent stake — are owned separately from Hanson’s B.R. Guest restaurant-management company, based here. The deal will allow Hanson to buy out his minority partners in the restaurants. As a part of the transaction, Starwood will incorporate B.R. Guest into a new entity called B.R. Guest LLC, which will own and manage the properties, the Post said. Hanson will get a 50-percent stake in a new venture and continue to run the restaurants on a daily basis.
Through the new venture, Hanson will develop new restaurants for Starwood’s high-end luxury hotel properties, including its “1” hotels. Hanson had already agreed to develop the hotels, and run the catering and room service operations of the eco-friendly hotel brand, under a deal announced last October.